#Compiler

The Compiler is a core object in Rspack. A Compiler instance is created when you call Rspack's JavaScript API or CLI.

It provides methods like run and watch to start builds, and exposes Compiler hooks that allow plugins to hook into different stages of the build process.

#Compiler methods

#run

Starts a compilation and calls the callback when compilation completes or fails with an error.

function run(
  callback: (
    error: Error, // Only includes compiler-related errors, such as configuration errors, not compilation errors
    stats: Stats, // Detailed information generated during compilation
  ) => void,
  options?: {
    modifiedFiles?: ReadonlySet<string>; // Modified files included in this compilation
    removedFiles?: ReadonlySet<string>; // Deleted files included in this compilation
  },
): void;

compiler.run((err, stats) => {
  // Deal with the compiler errors
  handleCompilerError(err);
  // Deal with the compilation errors
  handleModuleErrors(stats.toJson().errors);
  // Deal with the result
  handleBuildResult(stats);
  // End this compilation
  compiler.close(closeErr => {
    // Start a new compilation
    compiler.run((err, stats) => {});
  });
});

#watch

Watches files and directories, starting a compilation after they change. Calls the handler after each compilation completes or fails.

function watch(
  watchOptions: WatchOptions, // Options for starting the watcher
  handler: (error: Error, stats: Stats) => void, // Callback after each compilation
): Watching; // Watching controller

const watching = compiler.watch(
  {
    aggregateTimeout: 300,
    poll: undefined,
  },
  (err, stats) => {
    // Deal with the result
    handleBuildResult(stats);
  },
);

The Watching object provides the following methods:

• watch:
  • Type: (files: string[], dirs: string[], missing: string[]): void
  • Usage: Adds files and directories to watch.
• invalidate:
  • Type: (callback: () => void): void
  • Usage: Immediately ends the current watch cycle and starts a new compilation with the recorded file changes, without stopping the watcher.
• suspend:
  • Type: (): void
  • Usage: Enters watch-only mode and doesn't start new compilations.
• resume:
  • Type: (): void
  • Usage: Exits watch-only mode and starts a compilation with the recorded file changes.
• close:
  • Type: (callback: () => void): void
  • Usage: Stops the watcher.

#close

Closes the compiler and handles low-priority tasks like caching.

function close(
  callback: (err: Error) => void, // Callback after closing
): void;

#getInfrastructureLogger

Create a logger object that is not associated with any compilation, which is used to print global logs.

function getInfrastructureLogger(name: string): Logger;

#getCache

Creates a cache object to share data during the build process.

function getCache(name: string): CacheFacade;

#purgeInputFileSystem

Stops the input file system read loop, which contains an internal timer that may prevent the process from exiting after calling compiler.close.

function purgeInputFileSystem(): void;

#createChildCompiler

Runs another Rspack instance inside Rspack as a child compiler with different settings. Copies all hooks and plugins from the parent (or top-level) compiler and creates a child Compiler instance. Returns the created Compiler.

function createChildCompiler(
  compilation: Compilation,
  compilerName: string,
  compilerIndex: number,
  outputOptions: OutputOptions,
  plugins: RspackPlugin[],
): Compiler;

#runAsChild

Runs the child compiler, performing a complete compilation and generating assets.

function runAsChild(
  callback(
    err: Error, // Error related to the child compiler
    entries: Chunk[], // Chunks generated by the child compiler
    compilation: Compilation, // The compilation created by the child compiler
  ): void;
): void;

#isChild

Whether this compiler is a child compiler.

function isChild(): boolean;

#Compiler properties

#hooks

See compiler hooks for more details.

#rspack

• Type: typeof rspack

Get the exports of @rspack/core to obtain the associated internal objects. This is especially useful when you cannot directly reference @rspack/core or there are multiple Rspack instances.

A common example is accessing the sources object in a Rspack plugin:

const { RawSource } = compiler.rspack.sources;
const source = new RawSource('console.log("Hello, world!");');

#webpack

• Type: typeof rspack

Equivalent to compiler.rspack, this property is used for compatibility with webpack plugins.

If the Rspack plugin you are developing needs to be webpack compatible, you can use this property instead of compiler.rspack.

console.log(compiler.webpack === compiler.rspack); // true

#name

• Type: string

Get the name:

• For the root compiler, it is equivalent to name.
• For the child compiler, it is the value passed into createChildCompiler.
• For the MultiCompiler and in the KV form, it is the key.

#context

Current project root directory:

• Created through new Compiler, it is the value passed in.
• Created through rspack({}), it is context configuration.

#root

• Type: Compiler

Get the root of the child compiler tree.

#options

• Type: RspackOptionsNormalized

Get the full options used by this compiler.

#watchMode

• Type: boolean

Whether started through compiler.watch.

#watching

• Type: Watching

Get the watching object, see watch method for more details.

#running

• Type: boolean

Whether the compilation is currently being executed.

#inputFileSystem

• Type: InputFileSystem

Get the proxy object used for reading from the file system, which has optimizations such as caching inside to reduce duplicate reading of the same file.

#outputFileSystem

• Type: OutputFileSystem

Get the proxy object used for writing to the file system, fs by default.

#watchFileSystem

• Type: WatchFileSystem

Get the proxy object used for watching files or directories changes, which provides a watch method to start watching, and passes in the changed and removed items in the callback.

#MultiCompiler

The MultiCompiler module allows Rspack to run multiple configurations in separate compilers. If the options parameter in the Rspack's JavaScript API is an array of options, Rspack applies separate compilers and calls the callback after all compilers have been executed.

const { rspack } = require('@rspack/core');

rspack(
  [
    { entry: './index1.js', output: { filename: 'bundle1.js' } },
    { entry: './index2.js', output: { filename: 'bundle2.js' } },
  ],
  (err, stats) => {
    process.stdout.write(stats.toString() + '\n');
  },
);

It can also be created through new MultiCompiler:

const compiler1 = new Compiler({
  /* */
});
const compiler2 = new Compiler({
  /* */
});

new MultiCompiler([compiler1, compiler2]);

new MultiCompiler([compiler1, compiler2], {
  parallelism: 1, // the maximum number of parallel compilers
});

new MultiCompiler({
  name1: compiler1,
  name2: compiler2,
});

MultiCompiler also provides some methods and attributes of the Compiler.

#MultiCompiler methods

#setDependencies

Specify the dependency relationship between the compilers, using compiler.name as the identifier, to ensure the execution order of the compilers.

setDependencies(compiler: Compiler, dependencies: string[]): void;

#validateDependencies

Check whether the dependency relationship between the compilers is legal. If there is a cycle or a missing dependency, it will trigger the callback.

validateDependencies(
  callback: (err: Error) => void; // callback when there is an error
): boolean

#run

Execute the run method of each compiler according to the dependency relationship to start the compilation process.

run(
  callback: (err: Error, stats: MultiStats) => void,
  options?: {
    modifiedFiles?: ReadonlySet<string>; // Modified files included in this compilation
    removedFiles?: ReadonlySet<string>; // Deleted files included in this compilation
  },
): void;

#watch

Execute the watch method of each compiler according to the dependency relationship to start watching, and start a compilation process after the file changes.

function watch(
  watchOptions: WatchOptions | WatchOptions[],
  handler: (err: Error, stats: MultiStats) => void,
): MultiWatching;

#close

Execute the close method of each compiler to close them, and handle low-priority tasks such as caching during this period.

close(callback: (err: Error) => void): void;

#purgeInputFileSystem

Execute the purgeInputFileSystem of each compiler to stop the read loop of the file system

purgeInputFileSystem(): void;

#getInfrastructureLogger

Create a logger object that is not associated with any compilation, which is used to print global logs.

getInfrastructureLogger(name: string): Logger;

Same with compilers[0].getInfrastructureLogger()

#MultiCompiler properties

#compilers

• Type: Compiler[]

Get all included compilers.

#options

• Type: RspackOptionsNormalized[]

Get all the full options used by the compilers.

#inputFileSystem

• Type: InputFileSystem

Set the proxy object used for reading from the file system for each compiler.

#outputFileSystem

• Type: OutputFileSystem

Set the proxy object used for writing from the file system for each compiler.

#watchFileSystem

• Type: WatchFileSystem

Set the proxy object used for watching files or directories changes for each compiler.

#running

• Type: boolean

Whether the compilation is currently being executed.